While most have already heard or seen the video of this ESPN Sunday Conversation with Everton and US National Team keeper Tim Howard, this in depth story does justice to the man himself, yet still doesn’t scratch the surface.
I’ve known Timmy now for about 12 years, back to our time in the Youth National Team system when he was coming through the ranks and starring for the United States U – 17′s. This big kid, ridiculous springs and hands that were sure as could be just seemed too good to be true. Fast forward a couple of months and he’s a starter on the U – 20′s, myself with the U – 23′s and while constantly scrimmaging against each other (because let’s be honest, there isn’t anything else to do down at ARCO) Timmy was continually putting himself into a position where as soon as the U – 20′s were over, Olympic Team head coach Clive Charles was calling him in.
Throughout the course of four years, I was able to get to know one of the most genuine and honest people I’ve ever come across. Even after watching starter Adin Brown go down to injury and Brad Friedel get called in to be the starter in Australia just days before the tournament, never once did we hear a negative or frustrated word come out of Tim’s mouth. Was he content to sit on the bench at this once in a lifetime opportunity? Of course not, and it showed in every training session where you could literally see him growing into an stronger player where mistakes were accepted from and not made again.
One of the coolest experiences of my time in Australia was after our Bronze Medal match took place in Sydney. With most of the players heading back to their respective MLS or European teams for either playoffs or pre-seasons the following morning, Tim and I traded out a couple of game jerseys for hotel rooms / food, used our special passes designated for the Athletes and spent another 10 days living the Olympics.
Watching Tim go through his success with the MetroStars, the Full Team and his very first game in goal in a Manchester United uniform at the Coliseum in Los Angeles is only heightened by the fact the he’s a man who deserves it. This is the type of person you want your children to idolize, not because he’s an athlete, but because he’s a human being that we should all want to emulate.
